NASASpaceFlight.com Forum
International Space Flight (ESA, Russia, China and others) => Chinese Launchers => Topic started by: beidou on 09/29/2014 08:32 pm
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This satellite will be launched by the end of 2014, per report by Chinese media. The serial no. of the rocket is CZ-3A, Y-24.
Source: http://bbs.9ifly.cn/forum.php?mod=redirect&goto=findpost&ptid=13263&pid=324048&fromuid=24484 (http://bbs.9ifly.cn/forum.php?mod=redirect&goto=findpost&ptid=13263&pid=324048&fromuid=24484)
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The weather satellite has been cleared for shipping to the launch site in late November. Launch is scheduled in late December, which will be the last Chinese satellite launch of 2014.
Source: http://epaper.gmw.cn/gmrb/html/2014-11/05/nw.D110000gmrb_20141105_7-01.htm?div=-1 (http://epaper.gmw.cn/gmrb/html/2014-11/05/nw.D110000gmrb_20141105_7-01.htm?div=-1)
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According to http://www.wmo-sat.info/oscar/satellites/view/111 launch of FY-2G is schedule for December 31, 2014.
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According to http://www.wmo-sat.info/oscar/satellites/view/111 launch of FY-2G is schedule for December 31, 2014.
A small matter of statistical interest with that date. 31 December is the only day of the year on which an orbital launch has never been conducted. (This is based on UTC; there was a Commercial Titan III launch from Canaveral on 1 January 1990 UTC which occurred on 31 December the previous year in EST)
Assuming it does go on 31 December, I would say it would be a fair assumption that the launch would be on that date in both UTC and local time - the last four FY-2 launches have occurred between 00:50 and 01:30 UTC (08:50-09:30 local). The other two were around 12:00 UTC (20:00 local) but used the earlier CZ-3 rocket.
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At the 2014 launch schedule of the 9ifly Chinese space forum, the launch of FG-2G is listed as taking place on December 7. I suppose this is a mistake?
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At the 2014 launch schedule of the 9ifly Chinese space forum, the launch of FG-2G is listed as taking place on December 7. I suppose this is a mistake?
Yup. Not sure if the rocket and satellite got delivered yet (should be within these few days).
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Info on 9ifly Chinese space forum points to a launch date of December 23 for FY-2G.
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Info on 9ifly Chinese space forum points to a launch date of December 23 for FY-2G.
Well this date has passed without anything happening....
Recent photos from the launch site (http://bbs.9ifly.cn/thread-13263-3-1.html) shows that LC-3, mainly used for CZ-3A launches since Chang'e 1, is still under renovation for preparing it to host CZ-3B/C launches, and LC-2 seems to be used right now. So it looks like we will see a CZ-3A from LC-2 for the 1st time since early 2007. ;)
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According to http://www.cma.gov.cn/2011xwzx/2011xqxxw/2011xqxyw/201412/t20141224_270444.html (in Chinese), launch will take place "...at the end of December."
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According to http://www.cma.gov.cn/2011xwzx/2011xqxxw/2011xqxyw/201412/t20141224_270444.html (in Chinese), launch will take place "...at the end of December."
2014, presumably? ;)
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My word! They really left this launch till the last day of the year! :o
A2627/14 - A TEMPORARY RESTRICTED AREA ESTABLISHED CENTERED AT N2815E10202 WITH RADIUS OF 15KM.VERTICAL LIMITS:SFC-UNL. SFC - UNL, 31 DEC 00:55 2014 UNTIL 31 DEC 01:25 2014. CREATED: 25 DEC 09:25 2014
A2628/14 - A TEMPORARY RESTRICTED AREA ESTABLISHED BOUNDED BY:N243642E1145423-N245353E1140424-N243839E1135811-N242130E1144804 BACK TO START.VERTICAL LIMITS:GND-UNL. GND - UNL, 31 DEC 01:01 2014 UNTIL 31 DEC 01:48 2014. CREATED: 25 DEC 09:28 2014
Liftoff at ~01:00 UTC on December 31.
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A2628/14 seems to be for the fairing sections drop zone
As in most previous cases, no NOTAMs for 1st and 2nd stage drop zones
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Any sign of news on this one? It's past 1am UTC.
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There is neither live coverage nor any news from XSLC :(
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Any sign of news on this one? It's past 1am UTC.
Seems to have launched on time. Spacecraft sep. should be up very soon.
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Rui's article!
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/12/china-ends-2014-long-march-3a-launch-fengyun-2g/
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Liftoff time seems to be 01:02 UTC. Here's the Max-Q contrail posted on Weibo:
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Confirmed launch success per reports on-site.
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(http://s020.radikal.ru/i702/1412/74/f8c63053fc73.jpg)
(http://i078.radikal.ru/1412/24/548887635793.jpg)
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From Xinhua:
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Should be the 92nd launch of the year, the most since 1994. December was a really busy month.
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I have some counts saying 91 either way it was a hell of a year. The first Firework of the New Year's Eve celebration and it makes sense it was Chinese since I believe they invented the firework :)
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Calling this FY-2 #8 includes the satellite which exploded during pre-launch fuelling, I believe.
I have always called the first orbital FY-2 "1R" ("replacement") and so for me this satellite is FY-2 #7.
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China launches satellite Fengyun-II 08
A Long March-3A rocket carrying meteorological satellite Fengyun-II 08 blasts off from the launching pad at Xichang Satellite Launch Center, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Dec. 31, 2014. Wednesday's launch marked the 203rd mission for the Long March rocket family. (Xinhua/Liu Chan)
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/photo/2014-12/31/c_133889560.htm
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Calling this FY-2 #8 includes the satellite which exploded during pre-launch fuelling, I believe.
I have always called the first orbital FY-2 "1R" ("replacement") and so for me this satellite is FY-2 #7.
It is production serial number 8 and the Chinese language xinhua refer to it as such.
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http://news.qianlong.com/28874/2014/12/31/[email protected]
confirms liftoff time as 0102 UTC
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Short launch video
http://v.ifeng.com/news/tech/201412/01977e6b-ba96-406c-be88-51579dd77983.shtml (http://v.ifeng.com/news/tech/201412/01977e6b-ba96-406c-be88-51579dd77983.shtml)
Exact launch time: 01:02:04.197 UTC
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Oooh the Chinese are secretly testing first stage recovery (http://www.chinanews.com/tp/hd2011/2014/12-31/460747.shtml)........oh wait...... (http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/graphics/smilies/duck.gif)
(image taken at the village of Gaopingsi, Daoping Town, Fuquan City, Guizhou Province, 27° 02' 58" N, 107° 21' 47" E)
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Somewhat terrifying, that people stand this close and touching the engines, while toxic fumes rise from the wreckage.
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In other news, one object from this launch (40367/2014-090A) is being tracked in a 321 x 37203 km x 24.55 deg. orbit.
Somewhat terrifying, that people stand this close and touching the engines, while toxic fumes rise from the wreckage.
Indeed. I wonder if the local police/military are notified of the potential hazards of fallen hypergolic rocket stages....
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Did anyone know in advance that this was planned? If indeed it's a first stage recovery then they're quite nicely along with the stage having survived most of the descent though can't quite make out at what speed it could be coming in...
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Dropping hypergolic rockets errantly over populated landmasses is wrong on so many levels. >:( That's a forest, for crying out loud, and those are human beings.
Edit: I'm pretty certain that wasn't a first stage recovery attempt, personally.
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Dropping hypergolic rockets errantly over populated landmasses is wrong on so many levels. >:( That's a forest, for crying out loud, and those are human beings.
Edit: I'm pretty certain that wasn't a first stage recovery attempt, personally.
Next time I might need to add a sarcastic tag to such posts..... :-X
As for dropping hypergolic rockets on populated terrain.....well I don't know where else in China can you launch rockets, except for the eastern seaboard. But in the days of Chairman Mao attempting to launch such things from the east would lead to Western/Soviet bomber attacks instantly. ;)
Hence the Chinese are switching to kerolox/hydrolox/solid for the next generation rockets, build a new launch center on Hainan Island for most future launches, and is researching on fly-back boosters for use on the existing launch sites. ;)
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Dropping hypergolic rockets errantly over populated landmasses is wrong on so many levels. >:( That's a forest, for crying out loud, and those are human beings.
Edit: I'm pretty certain that wasn't a first stage recovery attempt, personally.
Well at least they don't have to worry about range issue red tape in China..
(I jest)
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Rui's article!
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/12/china-ends-2014-long-march-3a-launch-fengyun-2g/
Thanks Rui for your excellent articles & coverage this year.
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Calling this FY-2 #8 includes the satellite which exploded during pre-launch fuelling, I believe.
I have always called the first orbital FY-2 "1R" ("replacement") and so for me this satellite is FY-2 #7.
It is production serial number 8 and the Chinese language xinhua refer to it as such.
Exactly -- but in English language Chinese sources they do refer to it as FY-2G starting with FY-2A = FY-2 #02.
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Was that supposed to happen? I'm confused.
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Was that supposed to happen? I'm confused.
The first FY-2 exploded in a pre-launch accident - while it was being fuelled - so it did not receive a sequential number in the launch record.
The second FY-2 was the first to reach orbit: the Chinese call this either FY-2 #2 or FY-2A in English.
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Looks like the fins were lost during the stage's re-entry. Thank you for the pictures, very nice to see such an event in action!
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Dropping hypergolic rockets errantly over populated landmasses is wrong on so many levels. >:( That's a forest, for crying out loud, and those are human beings.
Edit: I'm pretty certain that wasn't a first stage recovery attempt, personally.
Well at least they don't have to worry about range issue red tape in China..
(I jest)
No, just need a pile of little green rectangles to get approvals...
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Somewhat terrifying, that people stand this close and touching the engines, while toxic fumes rise from the wreckage.
Its creepy as hell to see kids, especially the girl in the pink coat staring into the nozzles and have yellow fumes on the background. But then, this isnt new and has been going on forever in both China, siberia and Mongoila, except that now people in the villages have digital cameras and internet.
Sooooo ... how many people to refurbish the stage ? / ducks and hides
EDIT: btw the same images now here in stock photo collection
http://ww.corbisimages.com/Search#lc=Guizhou+Province,+China&p=1&sort=3
And oh, launching with hydrazine over the sea is so much better, because dolphins don't have digital cameras and internet, not yet anyway ;)
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Was that supposed to happen? I'm confused.
Yes. China drops stages over land during launches from its inland launch sites. This will start to change when its new sea-side launch site opens. Russia, BTW, does the same thing, but seems to keep people out of the "drop boxes" better than China.
- Ed Kyle
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Should be the 92nd launch of the year, the most since 1994. December was a really busy month.
I just wanted to say it looks like you were correct I went back and counted 92 was the magic number I can't wait to see us break 100 again.
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The Fengyun weather satellite looks like the old Hughes GSO satellite of the 70s.
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Was that supposed to happen? I'm confused.
Yes. China drops stages over land during launches from its inland launch sites. This will start to change when its new sea-side launch site opens. Russia, BTW, does the same thing, but seems to keep people out of the "drop boxes" better than China.
- Ed Kyle
OT but when is that launch site likely to start coming on line?
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OT but when is that launch site likely to start coming on line?
It's considered finished now, the limiting factor is the new rockets. The first launch (using CZ-6) is scheduled for June or July.
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Was that supposed to happen? I'm confused.
Yes. China drops stages over land during launches from its inland launch sites. This will start to change when its new sea-side launch site opens. Russia, BTW, does the same thing, but seems to keep people out of the "drop boxes" better than China.
- Ed Kyle
"seems to"
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/culture/articles/eav041902.shtml
http://www.universetoday.com/13196/space-junk-toxic-fuel-rains-down-on-siberian-region/
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Once it reaches orbit FY-2-8 will become FY-2G
http://www.nsmc.cma.gov.cn/NSMC/Contents/101607.html (in Chinese)
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It has been said that the yellow fumes were actually caused by a flare to mark the stage's position for recovery teams.
That doesn't alleviate the fact that unprotected people were allowed to touch and stand next to components that may have been slightly contaminated, but somehow it was strange to think they would be allowed (or able!) to roam around clearly leaking hypergols. Maybe the pictures with people around were taken after air sampling and experts determined there was nothing -too- hazardous left.
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So what happened to the rocket? Here's a Chinese follow-up news report: http://tv.cntv.cn/video/C10616/81d7d0773eb54a5890de87a99a383441 (http://tv.cntv.cn/video/C10616/81d7d0773eb54a5890de87a99a383441) :P
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If it's not manoeuvred I am assuming that object A is the third stage and FY-2 has still to be located (it's much smaller!).
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So what happened to the rocket? Here's a Chinese follow-up news report: http://tv.cntv.cn/video/C10616/81d7d0773eb54a5890de87a99a383441 (http://tv.cntv.cn/video/C10616/81d7d0773eb54a5890de87a99a383441) :P
BTW it is confirmed in this video clip that mission codename was 07-62
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A few launch images from Xinhua...
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It has been said that the yellow fumes were actually caused by a flare to mark the stage's position for recovery teams.
That doesn't alleviate the fact that unprotected people were allowed to touch and stand next to components that may have been slightly contaminated, but somehow it was strange to think they would be allowed (or able!) to roam around clearly leaking hypergols. Maybe the pictures with people around were taken after air sampling and experts determined there was nothing -too- hazardous left.
I find it most oddlifying that once they had blocked off a perimeter and posted guards the guards were all wearing paper or cheese cloth masks over their mouths and noses to protect against the gas. Umm, guys, its a gas and goes through those masks as well as the air you are breathing. Duh.
Mark
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If it's not manoeuvred I am assuming that object A is the third stage and FY-2 has still to be located (it's much smaller!).
The thing being tracked as object A from this launch is still in GTO, making me even more certain that this is the CZ-3A third stage, and FY-2 itself has yet to be tracked and catalogued. When it is found the object in GTO should switch to become B, while the satellite in GEO becomes A.
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The thing being tracked as object A from this launch is still in GTO, making me even more certain that this is the CZ-3A third stage, and FY-2 itself has yet to be tracked and catalogued. When it is found the object in GTO should switch to become B, while the satellite in GEO becomes A.
Talking about recent launches, we still do not see in the U.S. catalogue (near) GEO elements for Yamal 401 (40345, 2014-082A; with one exception only GTO elements for Briz-M tank were published); Angara 5 Briz-M/GVM combination (40355, 2014-085A; also only tank orbit elsets were published); and FY-2G. It may be policy or neglegence; the former is inconvenient but the latter frightens.
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It seems it landed engines first and had good roll. I aligned images of stage in midair.
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For comparison, I calculated the energy (potential + kinetic) of the FY-2G first stage compared to an F9 first stage here:
Asssuming the stage masses are roughly comparable, the F9 has 1.76x the energy of the chinese stage. It's likely that the F9 first stage is actually slightly heavier (since it's a two stage rocket) which would broaden the gap.
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In an eerie scene, Chinese villagers visit rocket crash site
http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/01/04/photos-long-march-rocket-stage-falls-in-rural-china/
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If it's not manoeuvred I am assuming that object A is the third stage and FY-2 has still to be located (it's much smaller!).
The thing being tracked as object A from this launch is still in GTO, making me even more certain that this is the CZ-3A third stage, and FY-2 itself has yet to be tracked and catalogued. When it is found the object in GTO should switch to become B, while the satellite in GEO becomes A.
It' s been done. New object A is practically in GEO (35769 x 35795 km @2.29°@99.4°E)
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Object C which is also now catalogued should be the apogee motor which separates after burning to circularise the orbit.
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First color composite image from FY-2G, http://www.nsmc.cma.gov.cn/NSMC/Contents/101610.html